Fastening device



May 17, 1966 s. M- COLLINS 3,251,106

FASTENING DEVICE Filed Feb. 14, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. J04 0440 M. (014 //V-$ y 1966 s. M. COLLINS 3,251,106

FASTENING DEVICE Filed Feb. 14, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' INVENTOR JOZOMO/V M. Coll/NS m M W ATTOR/VA-KS United States Patent 3,251,106 FASTENING DEVICE Solomon M. Collins, P1). Box 411, Detroit, Mich.

' Filed Feb. 14, 1964, Ser. No. 344,912

2 Claims. (CI. 24-77) This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 70,177, filed November 18, 1960, and now abandoned, and contains subject matter common to that application. This invention relates to a fastening device and more particularly to that type of fastener which can be snapped on to a shoe attachment and which includes an elastic member which exerts a'resilient pull between the opposed flaps of a shoe or other protective garment.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved fastening device particularly useful on shoes to replace shoelaces and further provide an attractive and novel fastening device which serves as a resilient connection between the shoe flaps.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple means of fastening for certain people who find shoelaces difficulty or impossible to tie, especially those who are handicapped, afflicted or aged, and young children who require assistance to tie their shoes.

It is a further object of this invention to provide also a fastening device which is easily adjustable to effect a better and constant fit so that the shoes remain comfortable during wear.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a fastening device which presents a smooth exterior and which has an inherent structure which looks the members together in a snug relationship which permits ready adjustment without a complicated fastening arrangement.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a fastening means for opposed members which can be anchored at a single post on either side but which will not spin out or turn out of position on the fastening post because of the inherent structure of the unit.

Another object of the invention is a design of a fastening element which permits easy threading of the tension piece and also presents an attractive combination, particularly when colors are utilized in the materials.

Other objects and features of the invention relating to details of construction and operation will be apparent in the following description and claims.

Drawings accompanying the disclosure and the various views thereof may be briefly described as:

FIGURE 1, a sectional view of an assembly of the fastening device showing both sides of a shoe.

FIGURE 2, an enlarged perspective top view of a detail of the fastener.

FIGURE 3, a bottom view of the device shown in FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 4, a view of the fastening portions of the device separated for illustration purposes.

FIGURE 5, a sectional view of a modified device utilizing a movable stop.

FIGURE 6, a perspective view of the fastener shown in FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7, a sectional view showing a modified fastener element.

FIGURE 8, a bottom view of the fastener shown in FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9, a side elevation of a modified type of fastener element.

FIGURE 10, a plan view of the assembly shown in FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 11, a sectional view on line 11-11 of FIG- URE 10.

FIGURE 12, a sectional view of a modified type of a fastener element having a split end bar.

FIGURE 13, a plan view of the fastener element shown in FIGURE 12.

Referring to the drawings:

In FIGURE 1, the opposed flaps 20 and 22 of a garment such as a shoe are shown formed of a double layer of material usually leather with a tongue element 24 underlying these flaps. These are the flaps that are usually connected by shoelaces. Inserted into these flaps through the holes usually occupied by the shoelaces are retained stud elements 26 and 28, each having a rib portion 30 which looks the device in the hole and each having prongs 32 which further lock the stud in the leather or cloth. The base of the element is also provided with spur projections 34 which bite into the flap element. On top of each stud is a ball head fastener element 36 connected by a reduced neck portion 38.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the fastener element is a box-like shell of stamped metal ormolded plastic 40 having a hole 42 in the bottom to snap overthe ball unit 36 in a resilient, removable relationship. The ends of the box are open at 44 and the top wall of the box has a relatively large rectangular opening 46. In the assembly, it Will be seen that a strip of material 50 is threaded ice through the unit 40, each of the ends 52 being turnedback through the element and turning on the edge 54. This stn'p may be resilient elastic or fabric or plastic tape. In assembly, when the head 36 is pushed through the hole 42 in'a snap-over action, it buckles the'strip upwardly at 56, thus causing the strip to lock itself on the corners 5'8 and 60 at the edge of the hole 46. It will be seen that the elasticity or tension on the member 50 can readily be adjusted by pulling one of the ends 52 through the unit to the proper tension and snapping the device in place. The unit is stabilized by reason of the folding over at the edge 54. The outside view of the completed fastener is shown in perspective in FIGURE 4. The exterior is a smoothv uninterrupted strip with just the edges of the shell 40 exposed.

In FIGURES 5 and 6,' a modified construction is shown wherein a plate has a hole 72 and two end strips 74 and 76 which form a rectangular opening 78 at each end of the plate. A small slida-ble looking bar 80, having an upstanding blade portion 82, is movably associated with the plate in such a manner that it may lock the elastic strip 84- by cutting into it as shown in FIG- URE 5, thus binding the strip against one end 76. 1 The strip 84 is passed over the plate 70 and drawn back through the openings 78, the end 86 projecting below the strip 84. g

In FIGURES 7 and 8, a modified type of structure is shown which is substantially identical to the device described in connection with FIGURES l to 4 with the exception that the hole 90 is offset from the central edge 92 of the unit so that the portion to the outside of the hole 90 is considerably shorter than the portion to the inside. In some installations where there is .a tendency for the unit to spin on the head 36, this offset will prevent this so-called spin-out or turning which causes the edge of the device which is normally to be outside to move to the inside and unfold the elastic. In this embodiment, as in the previous embodiments, the projection of the head 36 into the opening 46 locks the elastic against the corners of the cross bars of the unit to prevent slipping and to permit easy adjustment.

In FIGURES 9, 10, 11, another embodiment of the invention is shown wherein a unitary element, preferably formed of molded plastic, has a base apertured at 101. This base may have an arched shape to provide a concave under surface 102. Opposed side Walls 104 extend upwardly on each side of the base 100, and these walls extend in opposite directions from a low point 106 to arms 108 at'one end connected by a rod-like cross bar 110, and to broader and somewhat lower arms 112, connected by a cross bar 114. It will be noted that the dimension A, which represents the clearance between the base 100 and the cross bar 110, and which approximates a double thickness of a strip to be used therewith, is approximately twice as great as the dimension B representing the clearance between the cross bar 114 and the base which approximates a single thickness of the strip.

The threading of the unit, shown in FIGURES 9 to 11, is somewhat ditferent than that previously described since in the double pass of the strip, the top run 116 of the elastic strip passes under the bar 110 and over the bar 114 and then loops back in a return fold to go under the bar 114, over the base, andunder the bar 111). In the assembly as shown in FIGURE 11, again the head 36, which snaps through the hole 101, projects into the recess of the unit to put a pressure on the double fold to assist in locking it against slippage. The curvature 102 on the base 100 allows the device to conform to a conventional snap button 118 which is mounted on the shoe flap and this allows the device to fit snugly down over the snap button and close to the shoe flap.

In FIGURES 12 and 13, a unit somewhat similar to that shown in FIGURE 9 is illustrated. This unit is modified by reason of the fact that the forward or inner bar of the unit is formed of two inwardly facing stud portions 120 which are spaced to form a gap 122. Also, the outside bar 114 is provided with serrations 124 to provide a little more secure gripping of the band 116 when this is desirable for use with material which has less gripping power. The gap 122 permits the short end of the material to be threaded through the device and then the longer and can be inserted through the gap,

one edge at a time to facilitate the threading operation. Otherwise, this unit operates in the same manner as that shown in FIGURE 9.

It should be noted also that the bars 110 and 114 are spaced outwardly, horizontally as the device is illustrated, form the base 100 by reason of the overhang of arms 108 and 112. Thus, the geometrical projection of said bars toward said base lies just outside the edges of said base. This facilitates the threading of the unit. It will be apparent also that the bar 110 or the projections 120 of FIGURES 12 and 13 will overlie the tie strip 116 in the finished assembly. This creates a very stable assembly with no possibility of spin-out. Also, the sides 104 project out beyond the strip, and this creates an at tractive appearance of the device, particularly where there is a color contrast between the elastic band and the plastic fastener element.

In the appended claims, I have attempted to delineate the novelty of my device over known prior art for the purpose of defining the protected area as well as notifying the public relative to the unprotected area. However, I do intend by this claiming to cover any colorable variations, reversal of parts, or equivalents of the device which are within the scope and spirit of this disclosure and not anticipated by the prior art.

I claim:

1. In an adjustable fastener combination for fastening opposed portions of a garment together and utilizing a strip of material and a fastener element to be positioned in a snap-on relation on an anchoring stud, that improvement in the fastening element which comprises:

(a) an anchoring base plate having opposed sides and opposed ends and being apertured to receive the head of a stud,

(b) confining side walls on opposite sides of said base lying in spaced parallel relation and extending in one direction normal to said base, said side walls extending also, each in its own plane, to a point beyond the base plate at each end of the plate, and

(c) first and second cross-bars arranged in parallel relation to each other and to the ends of said plates, each disposed between spaced ends of said side walls, one of said cross-bars being spaced from the plane of said .base a distance to receive a single thickness of strip of fastening material, and the other being spaced twice that distance, each lying outside the projected area ofsaid base plate.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 in which the bottom surface of said base plate is concavely arched on an axis extending in the direction between the sides of said plate to facilitate the snap-fit over an anchoring stud.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 701,896 6/1902 Kinnear et a1. 24-203 879,465 2/1908 Holmes 24-186 1,478,658 12/1923 King 24--77 1,491,393 4/ 1924 Greefs 24-77 1,739,975 12/ 1929 Marinsky 24-77 1,902,557 3/1933 Janes 24-77 2,693,625 11/1954 Van Buren 24-77 3,181,216 5/1965 Shears 2477 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,024,477 1/ 1953 France. 97,692 1/1923 Switzerland.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

E. SIMONSEN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN ADJUSTABLE FASTENER COMBINATION FOR FASTENING OPPOSED PORTONS OF A GARMENT TOGETHER AND UTILIZING A STRIP OF MATERIAL AND A FASTENER ELEMENT TO BE POSITIONED IN A SNAP-ON RELATION ON AN ANCHORING STUD, THAT IMPROVEMENT IN THE FASTENING ELEMENT WHICH COMPRISES: (A) AN ANCHORING BASE PLATE HAVING OPPOSED SIDES AND OPPOSED ENDS AND BEING APERTURED TO RECEIVE THE HEAD OF A STUD, (B) CONFINING SIDE WALLS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID BASE LYING IN SPACED PARALLEL RELATION AND EXTENDING IN ONE DIRECTION NORMAL TO SAID BASE, SAID SIDE WALLS EXTENDING ALSO, EACH IN ITS OWN PLANE, TO A POINT BEYOND THE BASE PLATE AT EACH END OF THE PLATE, AND (C) FIRST AND SECOND CROSS-BARS ARRANGED IN PARALLEL RELATION TO EACH OTHER AND TO THE ENDS OF SAID PLATES, EACH DISPOSED BETWEEN SPACED ENDS F SAID SIDE WALLS, ONE OF SAID CROSS-BARS BEING SPACED FROM THE PLANE OF SAID BASE A DISTANCE TO RECEIVE A SINGLE THICKNESS OF STRIP OF FASTENING MATERIAL, AND THE OTHER BEING SPACED TWICE THAT DISTANCE, EACH LYING OUTSIDE THE PROJECTED AREA OF SAID BASE PLATE. 